Ramblings from 85 Cunningham: Race Day

On our drive back to Borrego, we knew we were out of radio range of Chase 2 and the Jeep, so I switched over to “weatherman” to listen to race gossip … as we got closer, I switched back to our race frequency, just in time to hear BFG relay call for us … Chase 2 had been trying to get an update on us, and the Jeep had a message to relay.

We learn that the Jeep had been stuck at RM360 for over 45 min, that was just 7 miles beyond where we left them. We also learned that the Jeep needed a tire, as they

had a flat and had used the spare. When we got into Borrego, we found that most of the people had packed and left … making it very easy to find our “camp”.

We hung out for a few minutes, Michelle bought a cold coke from one of the “taco trucks” that had come to service the area … I think Sheila had a cup of coffee, but didn’t look all that pleased with it.

We knew the Jeep could make BFG 3 at RM 321 for fuel, but they could not make it back to BFG 4 (same place as BFG 2, as this is where the course intersects itself) without being fueled. We also knew that we wanted to put a new spare tire on the Jeep. We packed camp and headed down to meet them at RM404. We stop at the same Pemex as earlier that morning for fuel, coffee and a real working bathroom. With all chase vehicles fueled and our 20gal of Jeep fuel ready to make it to RM404. Here we wait.

Around 145P we hear from the Jeep, both Mark and Dennis are very quiet, not a lot of chatter … for them it had been a very long night. At 214P they stop in front of our chase vehicles. We replace filter, refuel, put a new spare on and switch Tom and Tim into the Jeep … Mark and Dennis didn’t complain about having to get out of the Jeep 45mi early <g>.

At 229P, Race 1502 gets back onto the course … we are over the half way mark, we have travelled 411 miles (they added 7 miles to the start and end) and done so in 24h and 23 min … this gives us an average speed of 16.9 mph. The race has a 32 hour max, so we will need to travel the next 300 miles in a little under 8 hrs … and bring our average speed up to over 37mph!

With 1502 fueled and back on the course, we once again make our way towards Borrego, we don’t doddle, as the Jeep has to cover only 45 miles. We keep in radio contact with the Jeep for most of this section … they seem to be doing well, speed is up, but the engine is not running well. We get to Borrego when the Jeep is 8 miles out.

Borrego is shedding the “city” feeling, in the morning it was more like a village, now nearing the end of the afternoon, it definitely had an outpost feeling to it. The BFG Pit team which has been working for the last 24+ hrs looks exhausted … While BFG 1 was all energy, BFG 4 is mainly apathy. When our Jeep pulls in they “spring” to action … and by spring, I mean like an old tired bed spring that takes a long time to adjust to anything new <g>.

Fueling the Jeep has become a real problem, they are unable to get much fuel it … it just won’t go. Mark explains that they had the same problem at BFG 3 and that the solution was to put something into the filler hose, as the flap valve at the tank seems to be sticking … a pit crew finds a small hose that they can put in there … as they push, the tank burps .5 gal of fuel onto them … then they can dump stuff in … I’m sure that the last thing that guy wanted was a 110 octane shower.

1502 pulled into BFG 4 at 420P, they covered the last 45 miles averaging 19.3 mph … faster than the previous sections … but not enough. We know we are not going to make the end of the race before we time out … no one is talking about it, but we all know. They pull out at 432P (only a 12min stop)

For the next 60 miles, the race Jeep is always within radio contact, as the course parallels the highway (although a couple of miles in), and crossed the highway a couple of times. They will also have to drive on the highway to transition across. We get in our chase vehicles and drive up to the first place that we can see them and they will cross the highway.

The weather changes a great deal … better said, the temperature changes a great deal. This is due to Baja being a peninsula with the cold Pacific on the West coast and the warm Sea of Cortez on the East coast. The peninsula also has some significant mountains with our highway getting to over 4200ft in altitude and the race course closer to 5000ft. While this may not sound like a lot … it is the difference between, Ok, cold, really cold and miserably cold. Borrego is near sea level on the east side … so Ok. The Jeep is climbing over the mountains heading west, getting higher, getting darker … it is really cold, heading towards miserably cold.

We wait for the Jeep at RM 466, they cross at 528P … better time, averaging now 22.5mph. This next section has them in the gulley off to the right of the highway, we can see them bouncing their way through. I speed up ahead and stop to try to get some pictures and video … as I pull over and get out, I notice, so does Tom in the Jeep. Helmet off, he walks about 20ft from the Jeep, stands there, looks around, then heads back to the Jeep. Apparently, they had found a “rest area”.

So … you may ask (as I did in 2009), what do you do if you have to go #1? Well, you have 2 options … you either stop at a rest area as Tom did, or you pee in your pants … yep … you pee in your pants. Before you get all grossed out, before you start the race you can put on a condom catheter. This has a surgical hose attached to the end of it, which you run down your leg … this in turn comes out by your feet. Now that you know that, pay attention to the racers, you will see sometimes a small hose coming out of there pant leg … now you know. Oh yeah, and do not step in the puddle if they made one.

We take a few more pictures along the route and then follow them as they get on the highway. Our planned splash point for fuel is RM512. From here, they can make BFG 5, which is at RM588. But the time limit will expire, so we make plans to let BFG go home, and the chase team will head over there to refuel them. It’s getting darker and colder and the fog bank is starting to roll into the mountains in the path ahead for them.

BFG relay contacts us and lets us know that they will be there to support us if we need it. They at no point tell us to quit, on the contrary, they seem very much interested in us finishing the adventure we set ourselves on. Tim and Tom turn off the highway at RM474, we head on to our splash rendezvous at RM511. As we get closer to that point … Tim tells us that he is having more problems with the engine. We adjust plans and route for chase, to meet them earlier at RM504.

We get to RM504 about 7 minutes before the Jeep. They pull in at 655P. As we check the engine, turns out that several of the ignition wires are arcing. We can patch them to keep going … reality starts to set in … 200 miles to go, our ETA at race finish will be around 6A at our current pace … that’s 8 hrs past the end of the race … it also means nursing a wounded Jeep through 200 miles of mountains, in the bitter cold, at night … the section in front poses logistical challenges as well … as chase cannot go through the mountains and has to go around … The Jeep will likely beat us there and have to wait for us for fuel … and … if wee need to recover them from a breakdown, it will be a fairly treacherous route, with everyone on the brink of exhaustion.

Tim makes the call to stop the race for 1502 … I’m sure it was a very hard decision to make.

While we did not beat the 2011 Baja 1000, we did complete 511 race miles (RM504+7 added to start) in 28h 49min, averaging 17.7 mph. Now that is a great success!

For me personally, this was a great adventure, one that I would repeat in a heartbeat. This is one of the great races of the world, it is the pinnacle of offroad racing and our team was part of it … aside from the race accomplishment, it helped develop friendships, afforded me some great experiences with my dad and taught me a great many things…. thank you Tim and Sheila for making this happen.